Even before Friday's unveiling of the Mavericks' 2018-19 schedule, Dirk Nowitzki made it clear what he wanted to see above all else: a manageable early-season workload.

Thus Nowitzki, embarking on his NBA-record-tying 21st season, seemed to get his wish Friday. Dallas, bolstered by the additions of Luka Doncic and DeAndre Jordan, will play 16 of its first 28 games at home.

Logically, the schedule and roster upgrades should help prevent the Mavericks from plummeting to the horrific starts they suffered each of the last two seasons.

Specifically, 2016-17 starts of 0-5, 2-13 and 4-17.

And 2017-18 marks of 0-4, 1-10, 2-14 and 5-17.

"The key is for us to have a fast start," Nowitzki said. "For us it was a little rough last year, to have the tough schedule in November and the losses piled up on a younger team.

"That was a little frustrating, so hopefully we can get a little energy going, get everybody excited and positive about the team and play well."

Of last season's first 21 games, 16 were against opponents who made the playoffs the previous season, as were 26 of the first 38 games. Of this season's aforementioned first 28 games, 15 are against incumbent playoff teams.

Other notable aspects of this season's schedule, the 39th in Mavericks history:

--When Dallas opens the season on Oct. 17 at Phoenix, Nowitzki, health permitting, will tie an NBA record by appearing in his 21st season while breaking the record for most seasons playing for only one franchise. The Mavericks' home opener is three days later against Minnesota.

Mavericks' full 2018-19 schedule revealed: See when Warriors, Lakers visit Dallas; will Dirk's finale be in San Antonio?

--Marquee home games include the two visits by reigning champion Golden State. Both are weekend dates: Saturday, Nov. 17, and Sunday, Jan. 13. The lone visit by the Lakers and LeBron James comes on a Monday, Jan. 7. Boston, considered by most to be the Eastern Conference favorite, makes its only American Airlines Center visit on Nov. 24, two days after Thanksgiving.

--As usual, the busiest month is December. Dallas plays 16 games that month (down from 18 last season). From Dec. 18 through Jan. 5, the Mavericks will play their most brutal stretch, with nine of the 11 games on the road -- including at Golden State, Portland, Oklahoma City, Boston and Philadelphia. The season's longest homestands are three games (four times), and the longest road trips are four games (twice).

--Continuing the NBA's effort to curtail back-to-backs, Dallas will play 14 of those (down from 15 each of the last two seasons) and slightly above the NBA average of 13.3. In 2014-15, the average was 19.3 per team. For the second straight season, no NBA teams will play four games in five nights.

--The NBA will have flexible scheduling on ABC, TNT, ESPN and TNT games, but at the moment Dallas is scheduled to appear only twice on ESPN, three times on TNT and not at all on ABC. James and the Lakers, conversely, have 35 national TV appearances, including 14 on ESPN and 13 on TNT.

--If in fact this is Nowitzki's final season, the NBA schedule makers showed no sentimentality toward the greatest European player ever or toward the Mavericks. Dallas' final regular-season game is at San Antonio, on April 10. The Mavericks' home finale is April 9 against Phoenix.

If the Mavericks are not in playoff contention, Nowitzki might need to consider following baseball great Ted Williams' lead. Williams, also in his 21st season, hit a home run in his final Fenway Park at-bat on Sept. 28, 1960.

That's what most fans remember. Long forgotten is that Williams sat out that season's last three games, at New York.